The new College Football 25 video game is set to release in mid-July this year, and gamers and fans alike are going wild with the new features that EA Sports has been slowly leaking. From the new Wear and Tear system to the emphasis on school-specific traditions, this might just be the most anticipated sports video game of all time.
To enhance realism, schools were asked to submit a list of traditions, sounds, mascots and unique features that make their school special. From Ralph running around the field in Boulder to Swamp singing Tom Petty, this game is sure to be a college football fan's dream.
However, not all ideas were accepted and made it into the final version of the game. In fact, EA reached out to our group of academics to ask for their input on features and ideas that should be included in the game. Below is the rejection list that we sent to the fine folks at Electronic Arts:
Big 12
- Bet on yourself (literally) when selecting Iowa State as part of your created player's Road to Glory. Earn Virtual Currency (VC) by betting on your player's props and team-related odds. But be careful, betting too much VC could attract the attention of the Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation and ultimately force you to hire a lawyer using your player's earned VC.
- As the second half kicked off, Jack Trice Stadium was only a quarter full as fans who had been drinking beers in the parking lot at halftime slowly filed in.
- Pollard Mode: Participate in a local radio call-in show while ignoring questions from callers.
- Campbell Mode: When speaking with a media member, use as many words as possible to construct sentences that don't actually mean anything. The more words you use to construct a sentence, the more VC you'll earn. If you give a real team update, you'll lose VC.
- Primetime Badge: While at Colorado, he will record Instagram rap videos instead of practicing to boost his fan engagement power.
- Louis Luggage Mode: When enrolled in Colorado, players only get paid for highlight plays during games, and not if they actually win something.
- When playing daytime games at Baylor, visiting teams have to contend with Baylor administrators trying to remove tents to provide shade for players on the sidelines.
- Players won't be able to mute Utah fans on Twitter, no matter which Big 12 school they choose to play as.
- If you play as Kansas, the more your team loses, the more you can see and hear fans in the stands arguing about basketball player acquisitions.
Big 10
- When you join the “wave” after the first quarter at Kinnick Stadium, press A to give yourself a pat on the back.
- If you go into Iowa’s playbook, every play is a different punt type and formation.
- Nepotism Mode: If you choose Iowa in Dynasty Mode, only family members can be hired as assistants.
- Users can upgrade stadium capacity and relocate UCLA and USC to the beach to attract fans to come to games.
- Whenever a game is played at Northwestern University, the visiting team's fans fill the stadium, turning the game into a home-field advantage.
- All Nebraska games will have a 1990s-style broadcast and presentation.
- If you enroll at Ohio State University in Road to Glory, you can unlock an arm sleeve tattoo every 20 autographs.
- Stallions Badge: When playing as Michigan, players can see the opponent's play before the ball is snapped.
SEC
- After a night out on the town in Athens, Georgia, make sure you get home without attracting the attention of the local police. The faster you go, the more VC you'll earn, but be careful – you'll also attract attention. If you get caught, spend your VC on layers of protection, including a “Call Booster” feature that automatically calls the area's most prominent donor, who also happens to be an attorney.
- Choosing to play as Oklahoma means players will find social media pages filled with fan complaints about kickoff times.
- When recruiting for Texas A&M, coaches must nervously convince odd-seeming freshmen that the midnight yales and cult-like practices are “not weird” and that “other colleges no doubt do the same thing.”
- When playing against Texas, players are given the option to give the “horn down” signal after a highlight play. If a player holds the hand signal for too long, they will be immediately arrested and placed in the same jail cell as Louisville's Scottie Scheffler.
- “Try it in a Small Town” Badge: SEC players are less likely to commit crimes and get caught. Difficulty: Easy
- Harsin Badge: To get VC and attract better talent, keep your secret relationship with your recruiting assistant a secret for as long as possible. The longer the relationship, the harder it is to keep it a secret.
- Paterno power up: As long as the program is in the top 25, off-field issues are ignored.
Australian Central Committee
- If they choose to play as Clemson, users will not have access to the NIL and Transfer Portal features.
- Additionally, when playing as Clemson, users can enable “Little 'ole Clemson” mode, in which Dabo Sweeney goes on Fox News to answer questions about unfairness in college sports and must convince his players to stay. Difficulty: Very Hard.
- Miami's home games will be played in front of empty stands.
- Don't want to go to class on Road to Glory? Select North Carolina as your school and have someone attend instead. As a result, the graphics on the menu are distorted to reflect your inability to read.
- While playing as Duke, “Press X to skip to basketball season.”
- Teams that choose to join the ACC during conference realignment will be forced to remain until a new television contract is reached.
other
- Every game at Boise State features a dead bird who thought the blue grass was a pond.
- Super League Mode: Play as an SEC or Big 10 athletic director and decide the future of college sports. Want to form a super league with other conferences? Attend multiple antitrust hearings and cut other scholarships for Olympic sports. If you are successful in merging conferences, the game will immediately switch to Madden 25 and CFB25 will cease to exist.
- Kriavkov Badge: Successfully destroy any council in Dynasty mode.
- Dynasty Mode (TV Edition): Every decision made in Dynasty Mode reflects TV ratings and viewership. Want the conferences back to the good old days? Too bad! Nebraska vs Minnesota didn't get enough viewership on FS1, and USC joined the SEC.
- As a coach at a big-name program, you defend your playcalling after a loss by tweeting angry comments to fans from an anonymous Twitter handle.
